I have loved this particular Depression glassware pattern ever since I was a child. (I was born at the end of the Depression era and not during it--I'm not that old!!)

My Great-Grandmother had a few pieces and so did my mother (which I did inherit). But I think I love this pattern mostly because I love Irises. All colors and all kinds!

I have a large collection of the crystal pattern ,with only a few of the prime, hard to find, pieces missing. I also have a few of the amber and painted pieces, though I don't particularly care for them as much.

I never tire of searching for my special pattern among all the many, many pieces of depression glass still left out there to be found.

Iris & Herringbone was produced by the Jeannette Glass Company of Pennsylvania. It was originally made in the crystal "color" from 1928 to 1932, though a few pieces were also made in pink and green during this period.

More and different crystal pieces were again produced in the 1940's. Specialized treatments, such as satin finishes with hand painted flowers or other applied colors, probably date to this time also. These painted decorations are common on the fruit bowl, candlestick, nut bowl, 9 ½" and
11 ½" ruffled bowls and the large serving plate. Red and gold decorated sherbets can also be found and are dated to 1946.

The company seemed to be focusing its 1940's production of Iris and Herringbone on giftware pieces rather than dinnerware items so this may explain why dinner plates, luncheon plates, flat
tumblers and soup bowls are so hard to find.

There are a few pieces of this pattern that can be a little confusing for older collectors and really confusing for the newer, inexperienced collector.

Goblets come in two heights and two different size bowls. The 4 ½" size goblet has a 3 oz wine and a 4 oz cocktail. The 5 ½" comes in a 4 oz wine and an 8 oz water goblet. Because of this, you need to know the height as well as the ounce measurement when you're buying by mail or over the Internet.

The footed tumbler has also lead collectors on a confused path. It comes in both a 6 and 6 ½ inch size. That half inch isn't always easy to judge when you find one tumbler and have nothing to compare it with. (NOTE: ALWAYS carry a tape measure and jewelers loupe when you're on the hunt!)

Ruffled bowls were made in 5 inch, 9 ½ inch and 11-½ inch size. The cereal bowl is also 5 inches in diameter, but the edge is straight. The difference in price between a ruffled bowl ($13.00) and the hard to find cereal bowl ($110.00) can make for a very costly mistake.

The nut bowl and fruit bowls were made by
drilling a hole in the 11-½ inch ruffled bowl and adding a chrome base and centerpiece. Many of these are found with a satin finish. In the nut bowl, the center has holes for a nutcracker and picks, while the fruit bowl has 4 slits for fruit knives.

The lampshade is also 11-½ inch, ruffled, and satinized, some having pink, blue or tan color sprayed on. The base of the shade, however, has concentric rows that look like the Bubble pattern around the hole where the fixture would attach so that the bottom is not flat. If you put the lampshade on a table, it rocks.

Don't let anyone sell you a fruit bowl without the chrome as a lampshade! Be sure to check out the bottom. Passing a bowl off as a shade gets tried every once in a while by the unscrupulous seller. Know what you're buying!

In the 1950's, the Jeannette company began making marigold, iridescent or amber colored Iris & Herringbone. Although many pieces are the same shape as the original crystal, not all pieces were reissued. In fact, some molds were reworked so that there would be a differences between the crystal and iridescent.

For instance, the height of the 4 ½ inch wine goblet was changed to 4 inches by removing the half inch of clear glass from above the pattern. The candy jar bottom was made without lids. The foot of these candy jar bottoms is plain while the original jars have a rayed pattern on the foot. This is very important to remember because in the late 1960's through the '70's, candy bottoms were made in crystal with color flashed on them and sold to florists. When the color peels off, you're left with a crystal candy bottom that could be mistaken for the older style.

Vases were also made during the 1970's in milk glass with red, pink, green, and blue paint sprayed on. Don't confuse these with the original pink and green glass vases. The old vases are transparent. To date, only the vase, sugar, creamer and 9 ½" ruffled bowl have been found in these two colors.

Of course, everyone knows that you never find what you're looking for when you want it. Many times I've searched for several years for one certain piece and instead, in that time frame, found multiples of pieces I'd already collected. This is why you purchase the extras when you find them--to help fund your hunt for the next "big" find!

During the early production years, the crystal Iris sold for nickles and dimes, the equivalent, perhaps, of today's plastic pieces. It could be purchased in stores like Woolworth's and S.S. Kresge's--both better known as "The Dime Store."

Iris was also given as prizes at store promotions, drawings or at movie nights. It's been easier to find pieces of Iris in the populated areas of the country where there were more dime stores and events and thus more promotions.

Despite its past availability, some pieces just aren't turning up very often. This is probably because of it being used on a daily basis as a common, cheap, everyday product. It was not highly thought of and so was not well taken care of. When replaced with better pieces of glassware, most times it was thrown away.

I had a Great-Uncle who told me about some of the Iris and Herringbone pieces that had been in his family. After the Depression was over and things were getting better financially with his family, my Great-Aunt couldn't stand the sight of Iris any more--they brought back to many painful memories. So he loaded up 2 good size boxes, took them to the dump and smashed every one of them!

I cringe at the mental image this produces! What I wouldn't give to have those boxes in my possession now!

The company closed forever in 1983 but there are reproductions that started surfacing in the late 1990's. Beware of these!!

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